


A Family Matter

by myka1231



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Umino Iruka, Discord: Umino Hours, Family Feels, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25985746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myka1231/pseuds/myka1231
Summary: “Kakashi-sensei, you have to help me!” Naruto looked like he had been running against a wall for a while.“Iruka-sensei is in danger, we have to help him.”When Iruka-sensei's mission is compromised, Kakashi will go to the rescue.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto, Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 8
Kudos: 77
Collections: Umino Undercover





	A Family Matter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LazarusII](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazarusII/gifts).



> Thanks to Teazul for helping me plot this fic and bouncing ideas around until this was born.  
> Thanks to RenGoneMad for beta-reading this fic and their amazing comments.

Sato Kioshi looked at the clock on the kitchen counter next to the window to check he was still on time to his shift at the tea-house where he was working. Confirming he had another hour before leaving his temporal apartment, he went back to fiddling with the seal he was working on; he was trying to create a barrier that optimized the relation between the amount of chakra infused and the time the barrier lasted. If he was successful, he could have barriers that lasted hours with a minimal chakra input, which could save the life of a ninja in a bad position. Putting his project in a safe hiding place—inside a storage scroll on a loose board in the floor— Iruka readied himself to play his part in his undercover mission on the city of Shimizu, a middle-sized port six hours away from Konoha (at a moderate ninja speed) and a major player in the Hidden Village’s trade. 

Iruka pictured Kioshi as a sweet and mild-mannered man with a lot of charm who worked part-time in the Shimizu’s most important tea-house, where hidden from view, drug dealers traded everything money could pay, but specifically to Iruka’s mission, shinobi chakra-pills. It was a concerning problem because it could kill a civilian with no chakra training or knowledge and was a Hidden Village secret, maybe Konoha’s, that someone was leaking. Iruka’s mission was to find from where the supply was coming from and who were the major players in the game and inform the Godaime Hokage. It was a B-rank mission because there was no combat involved and only required intelligence gathering. A team would be dispatched later to deal with the situation, but for now, Iruka just needed to wait and see how it worked. 

Kioshi lived in a one-room apartment in Shimizu’s downtown. To afford the location, he had to settle with living in the more derelict part of the port where you couldn’t trust the streets in the dark hours of the night. While Kioshi walked the short way to the tea-house, Iruka thought that Kioshi was a good person, if a little soft. People often gave him more trouble because they knew they could get away with it. As Iruka started his shift, he let Kioshi’s easy-going nature overcome him and played his part. He attended the busy tables with an open and friendly disposition, smiling to encourage talking from the people around him, absorbing every little piece of news to filter as Iruka when the time was right. For now, he just pretended he didn’t know his employers were making a juicy deal on the corner table of the more private booths and away from the large space where benches were surrounded by comfy but mismatched chairs. 

As the patrons ordered the house’s specials, which were given funny names like ‘Idyllic Harbour’, or the drink’s numbers of the day, Iruka tried to listen discreetly. 

*

Shimizu was alive at the lunch hour and the tea-house was full of guests, but Kakuzu was given a private booth upon arrival because everyone knew not to mess with Akatsuki and the cape was introduction enough these days. As always, Kakuzu was in charge of checking the business part of the organization which was the reason he was meeting the dealers of the port, even if it was closer to Konoha than what he’d have liked. It was a good revenue income in terms of arms and money, so he couldn’t complain too much. 

So as he was drinking his tea and chatting with the owners of the establishment (and traffic dealers), he was surprised to notice something amiss. The waiter of his table was a little too controlled to be normal —he never spilt any tea even when he was pushed— and his chakra was too wrapped up to be anything but shinobi. That in itself was of concern, but there was something in the unremarkable face of this stranger that made Kakuzu stop and think harder about the situation. 

It wasn’t until some hours had passed and he was reviewing his jinchūriki Bingo Book for some facts that he came across the entry to the nine tails. The picture of the ninja working on the tea-house was listed as the next of kin of the boy. Furthermore, it was suggested the use of the scarred ninja as enticing bait to capture and lure the bijū they needed. He would act at his own discretion with this piece of news, but he would send a message to the rest of Akatsuki so they would have a little heads up. 

*

Kakashi was called to Tsunade’s office early in the morning and thought nothing of it. Probably the same old thing, an A or S-rank mission, otherwise, they would have called the other members of Team Kakashi. So when he approached the Hokage’s office and heard Naruto’s shouting match with the Godaime, he was a little confused. 

He entered the room after a perfunctory knock and got to see the worried looks on both of their faces. Seeing Tsunade with her arms crossed and her lips in a frown and Naruto with his hands on the Hokage’s desk, putting all his weight there and showing his teeth in her face, he sobered up as well because something was wrong.

“Brat, thank god you’re here to help me with the other brat,” said Tsunade without prompt.

“Kakashi-sensei, you have to help me!” Naruto looked like he had been running against a wall for a while, so Kakashi decided to take pity on the teen.

“What do you need, Naruto?”

That was the wrong thing to say because Naruto just started vomiting words without making any sense for a minute until he realised Tsunade’s smug face and stopped to talk slower and more composed. 

“Iruka-sensei is in danger, we have to help him.”

Now, that made more sense. And they would help Iruka because he was a comrade and friend, so what was the problem?

“You’re not going anywhere, Naruto. You’re staying put while Kakashi goes to extract Iruka-sensei from his current mission,” Tsunade said to Naruto. Addressing Kakashi, she began to debrief on the specifics. 

“Iruka-sensei was given an undercover mission in the city of Shimizu to gather intelligence on an illegal drug trafficking operation. The problem is that we intercepted a message from Akatsuki who discovered a ninja working in the port city and was being described as jinchūriki bait. The best assumption we made is that Iruka’s position is compromised and his relationship with Naruto is on record. We need to extract him from his mission as soon as possible, but also as discreetly as we’re able.”

“And Naruto wants to be part of the rescue team,” Kakashi concluded for Tsunade. 

“Of course I wanna go, it’s my fault Iruka-sensei is in danger!” If Naruto was yelling with rage before, now he was biting his lip and looking at the floor like a lost teen who had  suffered  too much already and feared losing more, so Kakashi did the only thing he knew how.

“I’ll go with Naruto and keep him safe from Akatsuki, you have my word, Tsunade-sama.” After all, Kakashi knew that Naruto wouldn’t be fine staying still when his father figure was in trouble and Kakashi could understand it. He couldn’t stay still either when his friend was compromised. Who could make him eggplant miso soup the way Iruka could? Who would discuss with him the finer points of Icha Icha if not the sensei?

That’s how they ended on their way to Shimizu on a silent two-man journey, both filled with the hope that it wasn’t too late to save the third party of the made-up family that had formed while making dinner on Sundays, sharing what little good they had. And if nothing else, that was enough reason to keep going at breakneck speed to the very end.

Once in Shimizu, the sun was high in the sky and the city was busy, but the operation of finding Iruka was calm and very anti-climatic because they were able to locate him easily enough. He was working at a big tea-house near the port and upon entering the establishment, he greeted them sane and whole.

“Would you like a table for two?” Iruka said, smiling at them like they were strangers.

“Yes, please.” Kakashi gave him just a glance. As if finding the one person you had been worrying for, that person that made you run like there’s no tomorrow, was an everyday thing. At their table, Naruto kept stealing glances at the man Iruka was pretending to be, a friendly fellow with a sweet disposition and lots of patience. And when their time to order came, Naruto was a little lost on the menu to notice the worried look that passed between the two grown men. 

“Do you know what you’ll be ordering or may I offer you anything special?” Said Iruka as he thought how much he would like to return to Konoha and their little outings to Ichiraku or the few picnics they’d have. 

“Well, I’ll have today special number 9 and Naruto here will take a ‘Love on the Beach’,” said Kakashi with too much glee while Naruto got red as a tomato and glared daggers at the older man. 

Much later, as they left the tea-house, Naruto said “So, we meet today at 9 pm on the beach”

Kakashi was actually impressed the teen had gotten the message with the big deal he had made. Sometimes he forgot how quickly the brats grow. 

*

The rest of the day, Naruto and Kakashi established their purpose in the city; they were on a mission to investigate Akatsuki’s sightings in the area. They made a lot of noise, expecting to deter anyone bold enough to kidnap a Konoha ninja so close to the Hidden Village itself. 

When the time came to meet up with Iruka, they approached the beach ready for anything, when in reality only Iruka was waiting for them. 

“Iruka-sensei, I’m so glad you’re ok,” said a tearing Naruto.

“Why would I not be fine. I’m as much a ninja as you or Kakashi-sensei,” Iruka wasn’t so pleased to see them, but still briefly hugged the boy.

“We know that, but the mission directive has changed. You’re compromised and we need to take you back to Konoha ASAP.” Kakashi tried to express the urgency in his words, but he didn’t think he was that successful.

“Give me four hours to tie loose ends and we’ll meet in the city outskirts to part for Konoha.”

So far things were working too much according to plan to be normal, were Kakashi’s thoughts about the whole ordeal. Which meant the mission was going to suck very soon, in his experience. 

*

Kakashi and Naruto arrived at the city’s skirts thirty minutes before the accorded time, anxious for leaving Shimizu and its full streets once and for all. Both were so focused on waiting for Iruka arriving safely —staring at the spot he would appear from, barely blinking— that they didn’t exchange a word between them.

They waited in silence until the four-hour mark passed, while Naruto bit his lip and couldn’t stand still. When an extra half an hour passed and there was no sign of Iruka, Naruto —who had made a hole on the earth with his pacing— just couldn’t take the silence any longer. 

“Kakashi-sensei, I don’t think that parting with Iruka-sensei was such a good idea, we should have followed him at a distance to make sure nothing bad happened to him.”

Kakashi could sympathize with Naruto and share his point of view, but he couldn’t forget that Iruka also had a mission to complete and their presence might ruin it. 

“Naruto, I know how you feel, but he can take care of himself. If Iruka-sensei doesn’t come at the five-hour mark since we last saw him, we’ll go back to the tea-house to look for him.”

Now that they had an action plan, Naruto was making tight fists in determination. For his part, Kakashi just hoped he was making the right decision and Iruka’s life wasn’t in danger. 

Counting down the minutes in their heads, Kakashi and Naruto were on their way as soon as the time was up and, trying to walk without apparent haste, they went to the tea-house where they sat at the same table as the first time they were there. The waiter who approached them as soon as he saw them was a blond younger than Iruka and was fidgety enough to project his nervous energy. 

“Shinobi-san, it’s good to see you,” said the man without much sentiment.

“Thank you, we want two specials number 3, please,” Kakashi said to keep appearances.

As the waiter went to prepare their order, Naruto tried to locate Iruka on the premises with little luck. Kakashi, on the other hand, knew that Iruka wouldn’t be there if his instincts were right and they always were. 

Their order came after a few minutes, but to Kakashi was a little eternity and when he was about to ask the waiter for the previous shift waiters, the man put an envelope on the table with their tea. 

“Someone asked to deliver this envelope to you when you came back, shinobi-san,” was the waiter’s explanation. Kakashi took the item from the table, tossing some money to pay for the tab, and he and Naruto went on their way without even touching the tea. 

When they found an alley more secluded from the mass of people still roaming the streets of Shimizu, Kakashi scanned the envelope with the Sharingan and proceeded to open it with haste once sure it wasn’t trapped. Inside was a note telling them that if the jinchūriki wanted to see Iruka again, he would have to go to the warehouse number 7 on the harbour. But the thing that made him stop and stare was that besides the note was a very familiar ponytail and that enraged Kakashi like few things in life had and if Naruto’s growl was anything to go by, the kid wasn’t faring any better. Kakashi knew they needed to cool down before walking into a trap or things were going down. 

*

When Iruka regained consciousness, he stayed very still and tried to expand his senses to gather as much intel on his surroundings as possible. He felt the cold concrete floor beneath his lax body and an enormous chakra signature keeping watch of him. He was tied from hands to feet by chakra wire so he opened his eyes to confront the situation. 

The man who kept him captive was the same one who was with the owners of the tea-house on his earlier shift. When he saw him awake, he gave him a bored glance.

“Well, I hope you’re worth my time. If the jinchūriki doesn’t come soon you’re going to regret it.” 

As the situation dawned on Iruka, he started to try loosening the wire, struggling to keep his newly cut hair from his eyes and looking around for something to help him from this situation. If only he could free himself, he could make something out of this. He wished like hell Naruto wouldn’t be so stupid to come barging in here, but he knew his luck when it came to the knucklehead ninja. 

As some commotion sounded outside the warehouse —or that’s what the place looked like— and the ninja that held him directed his attention elsewhere, Iruka took his opportunity and seeing a loose metal piece among some crates, he grabbed for it and started to cut through the chakra wire. 

The commotion ended up being Kakashi coming to the rescue, luckily alone, and Iruka thanked him mentally for keeping Naruto out of this. 

“I was expecting another fish to get caught on this hook, copy-nin Hatake Kakashi.”

“Hate to disappoint, but today I’m on my own,” said Kakashi on a drawl. 

“Well, I think I could make some money out of you if nothing else,” said the missing-nin, probably Akatsuki if they were trying to capture Naruto. 

When Iruka was finally about to free himself, someone came from behind the crates and Iruka could only curse in his head to avoid attracting attention. Of course, Naruto was here to save the day, of course, he couldn't stay safely out of the way. 

“Iruka-sensei, we’re here to help you,” said Naruto helpfully, using just shinobi hand signs to Iruka’s momentary relief. 

No kidding, he later thought darkly. They probably saw him like a damsel in distress and now, Iruka had to recalibrate his escape plan. 

As he finally liberated his hands, Iruka signed for Naruto to help him with his feet as he prepared the implements still under his sleeve. 

As Iruka signalled Naruto his plan, Naruto had his attention on the pair about to fight and was standing up to join the fray. Before he could prevent it, Naruto had given away his presence and Iruka was left playing the poor ninja tied up.

“I knew the jinchūriki wouldn’t be so callous to leave his sensei fighting alone,” said the Akatsuki with scorn.

“The jinchūriki has a name and it’s Uzumaki Naruto,” answered Naruto as he went to Kakashi’s side now that Iruka was free to escape alone, as Naruto and Kakashi probably expected. Well, they would have another thing coming their way if they thought so. 

As they taunted and gauged each other to fight some epic battle, Iruka approached the Akatsuki very carefully and when he was at the right distance, Iruka placed his newly created barrier and put a flare of chakra to activate it. 

When the missing-nin was aware of his predicament, it was too late, he was already in Iruka’s trap. So Iruka said the only sensible thing that had been said all afternoon since Naruto and Kakashi had arrived at Shimizu.

“Let’s go, we have two hours to cover all the road from here to Konoha that we can. It’d have to be enough to encounter aid halfway if we’re pursued. Kakashi, call one of your ninken to request reinforcements to Konoha.”

When they only stared at Iruka and didn’t move, Iruka had to resort to his most commanding voice, the one kids in the Academy knew not to argue with, and his best glare.

“What are you waiting for?”

Just like that, the three of them flew from the warehouse, ignoring the trapped Akatsuki’s outraged curses, and were out of Shimizu in record time. Iruka trusted that his barrier would last enough time to allow the reinforcements to arrive and if that was not the case, they would be too far away to care about his threats. 

When the trees had been blurring past them for some minutes, Naruto had to break the dead silence that had fallen upon them.

“Iruka-sensei, that was awesome! That Akatsuki didn’t know what was coming!”

Neither did you, Iruka didn’t say out loud.

“Naruto, what were you thinking walking into a trap like that? Kakashi-sensei, I thought you would talk Naruto out of any stupid plan!” 

“But Iruka-sensei, we couldn’t let our only family facing danger alone and do nothing about it! No one could!” Naruto exclaimed. 

At that declaration, Iruka lost all the steam he had collected as he was treated as some weakling incompetent ninja and stopped dead in his tracks. Naruto stopped for a moment and seeing his surprised reaction, he blushed and kept going.

It wasn’t until Kakashi had stopped next to Iruka a moment later that he came out of his stupor. Just as Iruka was looking to what to say, Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a genuine smile, trying to cover up his own flushed cheeks. 

“Maa, you just heard Naruto. It’s true that those who leave his comrades behind are worse than trash, but we would be the worst of them all if we had to leave you. Besides, rescuing Iruka-sensei every time he’s kidnapped is a family matter.”

After that, Kakashi gave him a playful wink and kept running. Iruka could do nothing but start going again to not lose sight of his family. 

.


End file.
